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Time Ranger v2 powerup process

Here's what my Time Ranger does when I power it up, hope this helps!

Hold the coil straight out from you at waist height, away from metal and press the power switch. The display shows AR, then a number relating to air balance, followed by IR.

At this point, you may press Disc Target or Preset and begin hunting right away in one of the Discrimination modes. You may also press Sniff and set that up as per the manual. Ground balancing is automatic and not controlled by the user.

To start out in All Metal Smart Trac, press power and perform the air balance as before. When IR appears, lower the coil all the way to the ground and then press the All Metal Smart Trac button. Try to choose an area free of metal to place the coil on the ground. The machine will begin to measure the ground conditions, and there will be a brief delay of a few seconds or longer. After the delay, a number relating to ground conditions will appear, then RY. If the delay seems too long, the ground may be highly mineralized or there may be some hidden metal under the ground or unnoticed nearby. You may choose to either wait it out or turn the machine off, pick another spot and ground balance again. Once Ry appears, you may begin hunting in All Metal mode.

You should be able to power up, air balance then ground balance and be hunting in about 10 seconds time if your ground is neutral. Mineralized ground will take a bit longer to get going on, but will still be a fairly quick process.

It's important to pick the "right" place to ground balance. It will determine the threshold and thus the performance of your machine. If the area you ground balanced on varies to a large degree from most of the soil in the area, or if it has hidden metal in it, you may be inadvertantly setting the detector up to ignore some signals. After ground balancing, I usually test the detector out on some metal, such as my shoelace eyelet, my keys or a coin, to verify it's working as I expect it to.

While hunting in All Metal mode, t's probably a good idea to periodically update your ground balance, just in case soil conditions changed and you were unaware of it, or if the ground monitor remains off-center for too long.

To switch between modes is easy. To go from All Metal to one of the Disc modes, simply press Disc Target, Preset or Sniff. To return to All Metal, have your coil on the ground and press All Metal Smart Trac, then wait for the number and RY as before.

The numbers displayed by Air balance at power up and by ground balancing may be compared to give you an idea of the mineralization in the area.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

-Ed

From a Newbie to a Newbie

by Ed Gerken, Sep., 2001

My wife, Sandy, and I bought a pair of Time Rangers this summer, and find they do tell us what is going on with most targets.

Our machines can get confused at times, mostly by cigarette foil bits, long-buried rusty iron cans (that have a "halo" of rust in the soils around them) and spent .22 shells. 22's read like nickels, the rusty iron and foil more often read more like a quarter, half-dollar or dollar.

When I got the Time Ranger, I dug nearly all signals after a thorough scan to see what the detector thought they were. Then after digging, I let reality be the judge! Can't say for sure about your particular model of Bounty Hunter, but the technology is probably similar; anyway our models were correct on most of the id's. If it said it was junk or iron, it almost always was. If the target wouldn't settle down to a specific id, it was also usually junk. Junky signal, junk target.

I would dig solid, repeatable targets that gave the same id when scanned in one direction and then another. A small "test" gold nugget gave a very weak signal that varied somewhat, but was noticiable because of it's "soft" sound. Also, a small ring I found this summer did alternate a bit in the id, but not as radically as most junk targets. It was a different signal than most targets, so I dug it, and was sure glad I did!

I switch modes pretty often, depending on the search area and number of signals. Few signals, I go to all-metal and once I locate a target, I might change to discriminate to help determine the target id. All metal mode pinpoints better as well. In a trashy area, I use discriminate mode with discrimination turned down low or off and increase it only enough to silence the most common trash at the site.

If you are digging nothing but nails or other trash target at a location, toss a typical "dud" on the ground and pass the coil over it, changing the settings until the trash item just barely vanishes from the signal. Now double check with a nickle, dime and quarter or test nugget to make sure you are still picking out the "good stuff".

I make sure I carry some coins and other items with me while hunting to provide a reliable test target, if I feel a need to check the machine's operation. I just scatter one or several coins in an area that is cleared of pre-existing signals and pass the coil over the spot. I have also brought along and scattered poptops, nails, bolts, tabs and screwcaps about the test area next to my coins to see if the detector could separate the individual signals. It quickly gave me a lot of experience with the machine in my own backyard and at nearby locations, and one time it helped me discover a loose coil connector while in the field.

Reducing sensitivity can help stop false signals, as can scanning from a greater distance above the surface, it also reduces the depth you will achieve, but sometimes this is the only way to hunt highly mineralized areas. A smaller searchcoil can help as well, as it is "seeing" a smaller portion of the troublesome soils, minerals, trash, etc., but again you will lose some depth.

I own a second pinpointing detector to fine-locate my signal and don't often need to rescan once a target is discovered, so I usually turn off the Bounty Hunter to help preserve the batteries.

Hope this long letter has a few hints you and perhaps other "newbies" can use.

Happy Hunting!

Ed Gerken

Time Ranger Tips and Info

Digitally Powered

The Time Ranger is designed for every metal detecting application conceivable at a professional level. All features and functions are highly visible with no hidden programming. The touchpads keep all modes of operation at quick and easy access while the LCD emits a constant reference source maximizing every possibility for finding treasure.

Now you can recover more relics and valuables from the past then ever before. The Time Ranger's Powerful Circuitry and smooth operation combine to deliver Absolute Performance. Includes an innovative feature called the Sentron Co-Relator, located on the top of the control panel, which senses outside electrical interference and automatically cancels it out. Includes a red LED light that alerts you whenever ground conditions require updating. Another useful feature to coin-shooters is the Numerical Value Readout on the LCD Panel that allows the user to determine the difference between clad and silver coins.

LCD Target ID

LCD Depth Readout

Deep Target Indicator

Microprocessor Circuitry

Ground Monitor

4-Level Iron Discrimination

Touchpad Selection

Sensitivity Control

Smart Trac® Ground Control

Numbered Target Values

Sniff Mode

Blanker System

Low Battery Indicator

3-Tone Target Audio

1/4-Inch Headphone Jack

Time Ranger Faceplate Features

Target ID Readout: Arrows indicate which type of metal or coin denomination is being detected

Depth Readout: Probable depth of coin-sized objects is indicated in inches 0-10

Low Battery Indicator: Located at the center of the faceplate/comes on when batteries are low

Headphone Jack: Can be either used with headphones or without (requires 1/4" plug)

Fully Programmable Touchpad Selection: Targets can be individually rejected or accepted

Blanker System: Will eliminate the surface while still detecting deeper more valuable objects

Auto Ground Balance: Automatically tracks the ground conditions you're hunting in for a constant optimal performance level

All Metal Smart Trac: Touchpad selection for keeping the unit at peak performance in the All Metals Mode

Target Preset: Allows you to operate the unit in a preselected automatic discrimination

Sniff Mode: Can be used in specialized applications when rejection or acceptance of one particular object is desired

Sensitivity (Low & High): Touchpad selection for level of sensitivity (operates in both Discrimination and All Metal Modes)

Audio Target Identification

The 3-Tone Audio Discrimination categorizes metal targets under 3 audio output possibilities.

THREE-TONE DISCRIMINATION classifies detected metal objects into the above 3 categories. Has 4-Level Iron Discrimination for complete programmability to eliminate small iron while still detecting larger iron objects. Can be programmed so that Iron and Bottle Caps no longer are detected while nickel and most small gold items will emit a low tone.

Comes with 8" Open-Face Waterproof Searchcoil.

Bounty Hunter® Technical Support

This page contains technical information about the

Bounty Hunter Time Ranger Metal Detector.

TIME RANGER INFORMATION

(Units in inches)

Time Ranger

(Max) Height: 5 «

Width: 6

Length: 5 1/4

8" coil

Height: «

Diameter: 8 3/8

Length: 50 (cord)

Shaft (adjustable)

(Max) Height: 6 1/4

Width: 4 «

Length: 45-51

*Battery Life

The Time Ranger uses two 9-Volt batteries Maximum battery life expectancy is 20

hours, with average-use life expectancy falling in ~16 hrs.

*Target Depth

Though the LCD displays a maximum depth of 10 (inches), depending on target size, soil

conditions, etc. much deeper targets may be detected. Large coins may be detected at

depths of 14 inches. The 'Deep Target' indicator is active for deep targets.

*Weight

Rugged plastic case and design makes the 3.5# Time Ranger easy for longtime use.

TIME RANGER DISCRIMINATION TIPS

The following are some suggestions for using the Time Ranger in Discriminate mode. In

Discriminate mode the unit responds to a target with an audible tone based on the type of target.

Some of the following settings may enhance discrimination by reducing the sensitivity of the

unit.

Mineralized/trashy ground hits can be reduced by programming out different levels of iron. Iron

levels Ir1 through Ir4 reduce the size of Iron sensitivity progressively. Ir1 will eliminate small

iron content. Ir2 will blank out small pieces of iron. Ir3 will ignore larger iron hits. And Ir4 will

blank out all iron signal.

The operator must keep in mind that apparent size is reduced by depth. A large iron object a foot

down may have the same signal as a small piece of iron only an inch down. Also, programming

out iron is not a complete solution to iron hits, as some iron can cause a fringe hit in another

'window' in the Time Ranger. For example, a rusted nail may sometimes be detected in the

silver dollar range.

Also, the operator can use the Sniff mode to mask certain types of objects that appear frequently.

If, for example, a certain type of pull tab is found frequently in the area, then the sniff mode can

be set to Reject that type of pull tab. This creates a small 'window' of rejection around that type

of object. Some indirect sweeps over that target may cause a false ID, but detection of this object

is greatly reduced using Sniff Reject.

And the blank mode is useful for ignoring everything on the surface. This can be selected at 2 or

4 inches and is often useful in high trash areas. The operator can, at any time, lift the coil slightly

higher to investigate a suspect good target areas.

With the Time Ranger's extended ranges of detection, combined with its built in sensitivity, it is

often a good practice to reduce the range of discrimination where 'false hits' occur. One 'catch-

all' practice that can limit the number of hits is to Reject Ir2 and $1. This blanks many of the

noise-causing signals.

TIME RANGER GROUND-BALANCE TIPS

The following are some suggested methods for ground balancing the Time Ranger.

The Ground Monitor will indicate the status of the ground balance, as some ground

conditions may require special ground balancing.

After first turning on the machine, and holding it in the air (until after "Ar" is dis-

played), the unit can be placed on the ground for ground balancing by pressing the

All Metal/Smart Trac button. After the unit displays "Ry, the unit should be

ground balanced.

Ground balance can be verified by lifting the coil in the air and checking the

Ground Monitor. If the ground monitor moves more than 1 count from the center

(zero) position then another ground balance may be necessary.

If another ground balance is necessary, then the Time Ranger coil may be held in

the air again, the All/Metal Smart Trac button pressed and returned to the ground

for another ground balance. The Ground Monitor can be used to check the progress

of the ground balance.

If the Ground Monitor moves ñ2 or more, then soil conditions are considered

extreme. This can be highly mineralized soil, salt water, black sand, or other ground

condition. The Time Ranger can compensate for this by using an alternative method

of ground balancing.

Alternative Ground Balancing Techniques

I.

For most conditions which prevent the Time Ranger from ground balancing

correctly, the machine may be ground balanced by not placing the coil directly on

the ground (as the user would normally be swinging the coil ~1inch over the

ground). The normal ground balance procedure is followed with the exception of

keeping the coil above the ground when balancing, then checking ground monitor

for error.

II.

For "hot" soils, the Time Ranger may readjust itself if the ground balance system is

not overdriven by extreme conditions. An alternative ground balance technique is

as follows;

1. Turn unit on.

2. Hold coil in air until after "Ar" is displayed.

3. Hold coil above ground level (3-6 inches depending on soil).

4. Press the All/Metal Smart Trac button and wait for "Ry"on display.

5. Pull coil up into air and check Ground Monitor. The Ground

Monitor should stay within ñ1 from the center (0) on display.

6. Repeat steps 2 thru 5 while decreasing distance from coil to ground

while ground balancing. After a successive rebalances Time

Ranger should be adjusted to the extreme soil condition.

This webpage brought to you by White River Preparium

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